Whatever it Takes
by xVampyx
Summary: Kori Anders recently moved to Gotham, trying to start a fresh life and move on from her old one. But those around her can't help but to think she's hiding something, something she'll do whatever it takes to keep from resurfacing. RichardxKori Rated M
1. Prologue: Run

_Whatever it Takes_

**Summary: Kori Anders recently moved to Gotham, trying to start a fresh life and move on from her old one. But those around her can't help but to think she's hiding something, something she'll do whatever it takes to keep from resurfacing. RichardxKori Rated M**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

* * *

**_Prologue: Run_**

Korina Andrews stood outside of her apartment, opening her mailbox. She shivered as the cold wind hit her, and she quickly grabbed her mail and headed back to her door. She glanced behind her shoulder as she walked, not able to quite kick the feeling of someone watching her.

She took a deep breath, seeing her breath in the air in front her. The feeling of someone watching her grew to be too much as she fumbled around with her keys, trying to get her door opened.

She sighed in relief as her lock finally came undone, and she practically sprinted into her apartment. "Damn lock, I told the landlord to fix it already. What is taking him so long?" she muttered, throwing her mail down on her table.

She glanced around her apartment, her home of 3 years now. Everything about it screamed her style, from the purple walls and her favorite artist's paintings, to the huge bookshelf filled with novels from every genre you could think of. Her easel stood in the corner of the living room, with a fresh canvas waiting for her to splash her ideas onto.

She made her way into her bathroom, and bent over the tub to start the hot water. She took another deep breath as she took off all her clothes, and stood naked in the mirror. Her hand came up to her throat, and grabbed her necklace as she twirled it in her fingers. Sighing, she made her way to the clasp, taking it off, and set it down on the bathroom counter.

The necklace was the last gift her father ever gave her, before he died in a car accident on his way to work when she was eight years old. Out of everything she owned, it was the only thing that she thought was of value. She was twenty years old now and always found herself still taking it off before doing anything she thought might ruin it over the years.

Noticing steam beginning to take over the mirror, she stepped into the shower, letting the hot water cover her body. She let down her hair from the messy bun she had it in, and let her long deep auburn hair fall over her shoulders. She grabbed her Vanilla Almond body wash and began to scrub away all her worries, allowing herself to get lost in the steam of the hot water.

Minutes passed by, and she reluctantly got out of the shower. She looked at herself in the mirror once more, taking herself in. Her hair was wet and tangled, but she knew she was considered beautiful. With her sun kissed skin, long wavy hair, and big green eyes. She stood at around 5'5" and had a petite but curvy frame. However, she was never one to intentionally make her beauty shine, and wore clothes that were usually covered in paint or just in pants and t-shirts.

She glanced down at her phone, "It's already past midnight?"

She quickly grabbed her pajamas and dressed, before throwing herself down into bed, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Kori shot up in bed, and glanced down at the clock, realizing that it was 2 in the morning. She stood up and walked to her door, fear consuming her as she thought she heard someone in her apartment.

She put her ear against it, and tried to listen for movements, praying it was just her imagination. After a few minutes of not hearing anything again, she slumped against the door, feeling relieved.

She went to walk back to her bed when her door shot open, and she went to scream before two hands grabbed her around the waist.

"Miss me?" the voice breathed sickly into her ear, before smelling her hair, "Because I know I've missed you." She tried to get herself out of their hands, but their strength way over powered hers and she found herself being thrown onto her bed.

"Get off me!" She cried out, but her voice was being muffled by their hands. "Hush," they whispered angrily, "Don't want to wake the neighbors, now do we?"

Their free hand snaked around her throat squeezing it tightly, while the other moved from her mouth down her body. She felt his hand hold onto the waist band of her silky pajama pants. "You know I always loved these pajamas on you, Kori," he breathed into her ear.

"…You're…disgusting…," she gasped out, trying to muster up all the anger in her voice that she could, trying to disguise the fear that she felt. His grip tightened even more on her throat, and she started to feel dizzy. Tears stung her eyes as she brought her knee up hard to the man's abdomen, and he rolled over to his side coughing.

She threw herself off the bed and ran out of her room, heading towards the door. She was almost to the door knob when the man ran up behind her, and took a hold of her tank top. He threw her into her end table, and she slid to the floor. She brought her hand up to the back of her head, feeling the warm sticky blood where she had hit it.

"Feisty, I like it," he sneered, before lunging himself at her again. She felt his body slam onto hers, and she knew she didn't stand that much of a chance. _Please let someone hear what's going on, please_ she prayed, as she watched him swing back his hand, and backhand her across the face.

She felt the warm wetness trickle down her face from her nose, and she flinched as his hand came down again.

"Did you really think you could avoid me, Korina?" He shouted, "Did you? Do you think I'm honestly too stupid to find you?" He began taking off his belt, and she took his distraction as a chance to make a run for it.

She went to get up, but he grabbed onto her ankle, and she felt a sensation of pain as the belt came down across her back. She cried out and kicked at him as hard as she could, make him fall back onto the ground. She grabbed for the nearest thing to her, which luckily was a vase, and she threw it down on his head.

The sound of glass shattering echoed in her ears as she stood frozen in shock, seeing his body lay there motionless, blood flowing freely from his head.

She ran out of her apartment into the cold, crying out for help.

* * *

**Not much I know, but it's a start. Read and review if you want to, let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter One: New Beginning

_Whatever it Takes_

**Summary: Kori Anders recently moved to Gotham, trying to start a fresh life and move on from her old one. But those around her can't help but to think she's hiding something, something she'll do whatever it takes to keep from resurfacing. RichardxKori Rated M**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

* * *

_**Chapter One: New Beginning**_

_Two years later..._

Sitting out on her balcony, Kori took in the beauty of Gotham. She was memorizing all the different colored lights of Downtown, watching all the swift movements of the people rushing around trying to get where they were going. She began to brush different colored paints on to her canvas, trying to recapture the busy life of Gotham through her eyes.

She went to dip her brush into new paint when she was disrupted from her process by the sound of the phone ringing. She set down her brush, rolling her eyes, and made her way back into her apartment.

"I hear you ringing, but I cannot seem to find you!" she exclaimed, throwing her throw pillows off the couch, rummaging through the cushions. Digging her arm deep inside the couch under the last cushion, she pulled out her phone, a look of triumph on her face.

"Hello?" she asked, accepting the phone call from her friend Victor. She blew a strand of hair out of her eye, as she sat down on her recliner. She couldn't help but to smile when she heard her friend – more like her big brother – exclaim into the phone, _"Hey lil' lady!"_

She giggled, "Yes, Vic?"

"_We were all going to go to Ruby Sanctum tonight. That creepy club Rachel likes to go to, are you wanting to go?"_

Kori felt the discomfort instantly, "I… I don't know Vic. Clubs really aren't my… thing." She laid her head back against the recliner, preparing herself for the instant begging for her to go. She knew she'd have to give in, even though she really didn't want to.

"_Oh come on, you never go out with us to any clubs. It'll be fun. Don't make me go over there and kidnap you."_

She fought back a laugh, "I just don't see the point, but alright, alright. I'll go, but I can't promise to be there long."

She heard some shouting, something among the lines of _"Gar—What're you—STOP. Don't beat my high score you little punk!"_ She rolled her eyes at her immature friends and smiled, waiting for Victor to return to the conversation.

"_Sorry, Kor. But thank you. Do you want me to pick you up, or are you going to drive?"_

Kori thought for a moment, looking at an ad for a cab service that was on her coffee table. "I'll probably just take a cab, actually." After a few minutes of talking to somewhat catch up, and discussing the club situation, she said her goodbyes on the phone and hung up.

She stared up at the ceiling, dreading the idea of trying to find something club appropriate to wear. She walked back out onto her balcony and began to paint again.

* * *

It was 11 o'clock, and Kori paid the cab fare and left him a decent tip as well. She got out of the cab, and stared at the line, somewhat thankful that she just had to tell the bouncer she was there under Victor Stones group.

She shivered in the night air as she made her way to the bouncer, tugging her dress down as she felt violated, knowing a lot of eyes were on her. She wore a dark purple mini sheath dress, which hugged her curves in all the right places. Out of all her clothes, she felt that was the only club appropriate outfit she owned, and though she knew she looked good in it, she still felt extremely uncomfortable wearing it.

It took her hours to scrub off all the paint that covered her hands, and wash out the paint that got into some of her strands of hair. Everyone loved her art, how neat it always was, but every piece she ever finished, she always finished looking like she rolled in the paint herself. Painting was her escape from reality, and always lost track of time with each stroke of the brush. It made her happy, free… so she never personally minded the mess.

"Name?" the bouncer asked, looking down at her expectantly, shaking her from her thoughts. "I'm here with Victor Stones group, Kori Anders" she peeped out, looking up at the man, who truly did look terrifying. He glanced down at the sheet for a moment, and then looked back at her. "Very well," he moved aside, letting her past him into the doorway.

"Well this is definitely creepy after all," she noted, dancing her way awkwardly through the crowd, eyes scanning everywhere for her friends. She felt extremely out of place, as everyone there had unnatural colored hair and wore black leather outfits or hardly any clothes at all.

After torturous minutes of being felt up and grabbed by random strangers, relief washed over her as she saw a table of her friends sitting in the back of the club.

She walked briskly over to the table, noticing a few unfamiliar faces sitting there as well. She saw Victor sitting down with his girlfriend Karen Beecher in his lap. Then there was Garfield Logan and his girlfriend, her other best friend, Rachel Roth. Kori sighed as she realized that Rachel was already practically wasted, she was always the first one to get drunk. She was just glad that Garfield was always there to take care of her. Also, sitting across from them was their other friend Wally.

Her eyes then rested on a man sitting down next to Karen with dark black hair and shining blue eyes, which had a red headed woman attached to his arm. There was also another man who also had red hair, gulping down shots. She was slightly disappointed in the fact that she didn't know everyone she'd be spending time with tonight, since Victor acted like it would just be their usual group of friends.

She blushed as she realized that the mysterious black haired, blue eyed man was staring at her, and knew she was caught staring at them. Before she could say hello, she felt strong arms wrap around her and heard Victor roaring her name. She could smell the liquor on his breath.

She giggled and hugged him back. "Kori, I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up! You three, this is Kori Anders, and this is Richard Grayson," he stated, gesturing towards the man with the black hair, "and his girlfriend Barbara Gordon."

"Please, call me Babs," the woman spoke up, in what seemed to be a fake 'sweet' voice. Kori already felt oddly annoyed with the woman 'Babs'.

"And I'm Roy," said the red headed man, who smiled up at her, not before his eyes scanned up and down her body.

_I really wish I had a coat to wear _she thought, holding awkwardly onto her left arm.

Karen gave her a sympathetic look, immediately picking up on her feeling awkward and out of place. "Want a drink Kori? It'll help," she said into Kori's ear, standing up to let her in the booth. Kori nodded after a moment of thinking, and took the drink from Karen's hands.

Kori scooted in and was then sitting next to the man with black hair, also known as Richard. She had to admit he was strikingly handsome, and seemed to be oddly quiet just like she was. She heard Babs clear her throat, and Kori glanced up at her, knowing Babs had caught her staring at Richard.

"Dick, can we dance?" Babs whined into his ear, pushing herself against him. Kori could have sworn that she saw him roll his eyes, but looked away from the couple, and took another drink.

"Why even come here then, if you won't even dance with me?" Babs protested, staring at him looking pissed off. Richard merely shrugged his shoulders, and took a drink of his White Russian, not even looking at her.

"Roy, dance with me, since he won't," she said hatefully, digging her nails into Roy's arm, and made their way out to the dance floor.

She heard Richard chuckle beside her, but she chose not to comment. She glanced around the club, and though she felt out of place, she had to admit that the club itself was beautiful. The inside seemed like an old, mysterious dungeon, and then she knew why Rachel liked it here so much. She heard Karen order Kori a few more drinks.

She was in the middle of her thoughts about the interior design of the place, and the way the dancing crowd just blurred together moving as one, when she realized that all of her friends were now a part of the crowd. Feeling a little dizzy from not paying attention to exactly how much alcohol she was drinking, she sighed and leaned back against the seat, closing her eyes.

"Feeling alright? You sure have been sucking down those Cosmos," a deep voice said from beside her, amusement evident in his tone. She opened her eyes, and looked beside her, realizing it was the first time she heard him speak.

"I… I, um, yes. I'm okay," she lamely stuttered out, causing him to chuckle. She enjoyed the sound of it, and couldn't resist the smile that formed on her lips. "I just don't really drink much, Karen said it would help."

"Help what?" he asked lightly, his blue eyes sparking with interest a bit.

She couldn't help but to stare into them, he had the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. They reminded her of the ocean she swam in when she was seven, the last vacation with her father that she went on. She instinctively grabbed her necklace; an emerald jewel that her father always said matched her eyes, and began twirling it around her fingers.

"Hello?" he asked, a lopsided grin on his face. Her cheeks felt warm, and she glanced down at the table. "Sorry, I get… distracted easily, you know, lost in my own head. But, I'm not used to the… club atmosphere, so Karen said it would help me relax a little. To be honest, I didn't realize how fast I was drinking them."

He smiled in response, and turned back to his own drink. _Way to go, I just blew it with my awful blabbing, _she thought, disappointed that he didn't bother to reply with words.

She took another drink, and practically jumped when he spoke up again. "What?" she asked; embarrassed that she didn't catch what he had said. He chuckled again, "I said," he started, "Why aren't you dancing with everyone else? You know, I don't dance because I like to sit here by myself, and you're kind of ruining that for me."

She almost choked on her drink, and turned at him wide eyed. "I am sorry… I didn't realize, exc use me," she retorted, trying to get up out of the booth.

She whipped her head around quickly and stared daggers at him as he reached out and grabbed her wrist. Noticing her glare, he instantly let go of her wrist and held his hands up. "Whoa, easy there. I was only joking. Please, sit back down." He gestured down towards the seat next to him, and scooted down a little bit.

She relaxed her face, and sat back down wearily, keeping a little bit more distance between them. "Sorry, the joke was not very evident," she murmured apologetically, knowing she had overreacted to him touching her as well. "But, I believe it is you who needs to be asked why you are not out dancing with your girlfriend, she seemed pretty upset."

Richard snorted, "Babs? Upset? Why, I've never heard of that ever happening before!" She giggled, sensing his sarcasm. He grinned down at her, happy to hear her laugh.

"Ever tried a White Russian before?" he inquired, ordering another one as the waitress walked by, who looked at him dreamily as he finished ordering. Kori merely shook her head, and was surprised to find that she was enjoying his company. Usually she didn't do so well with strangers.

"Here, try it," Richard advised, shoving the almost empty glass towards her. She looked at it strangely, before taking a drink of it hesitantly.

She heard him laugh beside her, and she knew she must have made a funny face at the taste of it. "Yeah, I guess it isn't for everyone," he admitted, taking the glass back from her.

* * *

"Uh oh," Karen stated, as she rubbed her backside against Victor, who had his arms wrapped around her tightly. "What?" he breathed, finding it hard to focus on anything but his girlfriend. "Looks like Richard made a new friend," she said, gesturing towards their table, watching Kori and Richard laugh over what looked to be his drink.

"So? Kori's a nice girl, it's easy to like her," Victor laughed, "and it's good to see her getting a little bit out of her bubble. I swear she's always hiding away in her apartment, like she's too scared to leave it."

Karen stopped dancing and turned around, looking up at him thoughtfully, "She's a nice girl, Victor. But Barbara isn't," she nodded her head towards Babs, and Victor looked over to see her, and noticing Babs was glaring at the table.

"Uh oh is right then," Victor admitted, "Should we go over there or something? Kori isn't a girl who is used to bitches like Babs."

Karen giggled, "Nah, if anything were to happen, I know Richard would handle it. Now get over here," she flirted, motioning him towards her.

* * *

"What the hell is going on over there?" Babs practically shrieked, trying to look over the dancing bodies in the crowd. Her eyes landed on her boyfriend, sitting too close to Kori for her liking. When she saw him laugh, she could feel her blood boiling. Roy groaned, "I'm sure it's nothing, now stop freaking out. They're just talking, and it's not like you haven't done more than 'just talking' to a guy behind Richard's back."

She turned around glared at him, her breathing coming in short pants. "If you Ever speak to anyone about what happened between us, or even bring it back up to me one more time, I swear to God Roy, I will destroy you." She poked her finger into his chest, "Trust me, what we had is over."

"Whatever you say darling," he laughed, pulling her against him, his eyes roaming her body, enjoying the way she looked in her tight, short pink dress. "Well, either go over there and ruin the night, or keep dancing with me. What I'm not going to do, however, is just stand here and listen to you bitch over him, so make up your mind."

* * *

"Where are you even from?" he asked, more seriously "I've never seen you around here before, which is weird since we have mutual friends." His eyes searching her face, he couldn't get over how beautiful she was.

"Well I moved here almost two years ago, and met our friends almost a year ago. I don't really go out that much… I met Rachel in Roreks Library downtown." She giggled to herself about the awkward meeting; they had turned around and ran into each other as they both turned to go in the opposite direction down the aisle, not paying attention because they both were reading books as they were walking.

"Hmm… Let me guess, in the horror section?"

She found herself laughing once again, realizing this was the most she had laughed in a long time. "No, actually. We were both in the _fantasy _section."

"Well, I –" he started, before being interrupted.

"And what is going on here?" a very angry voice yelled out, and Kori glanced up to see a very pissed off looking Babs standing in front of their table.

"We were just –" Kori began, but Babs snapped her fingers in her face. "I don't remember asking _you,_ what was it? Tori?" She shouted at, glaring down at her.

"Kori. It's Kori," Richard corrected, rolling his eyes at his girlfriend yet again.

"Meet me in the car, Dick. I want to go home, now." She turned around, and then was gone as quick as she had arrived.

Kori had been glancing down at her hands, toying with her fingers awkwardly after Barbara had shouted at her; she tried her hardest to avoid conflict at all costs. She scooted out of the booth, allowing Richard through. He felt bad for her, and was upset that she didn't even seem to want to look at him.

He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, not wanting to just up and leave. "I am sorry about her behavior… She can be a little… much, sometimes," he said in an almost jokingly tone, though he honestly couldn't stand the way she acted. "It was very nice to meet you, Kori. Hope to see you around again soon?"

She nodded politely, and mustered up a smile. "It was very nice to meet you too, Richard, and I'm sure you will sometime." She had just then realized how tall he was, she guessed around 6'1-6'2". He dressed well, in a form fitting long sleeve white V-neck shirt, and dark jeans.

She tore her eyes off him and turned to sit back down at the table, when she felt him brush his body against hers, and she felt her face redden. His lips brushed against her ear as he whispered, "You look beautiful tonight. No one else acknowledged it, so I figured I would. See you around, Kori."

Her eyes widened and she went to turn around again, but he was already making his way towards the exit. She knew she was still blushing, and held onto her arm again just as awkwardly as before. "Thank you, Richard…" she whispered to herself as she began twirling her necklace again, as his body disappeared in the crowd.

* * *

**I know it's soon, but here's the 'first' chapter. This chapter was mainly focusing on meeting everyone and to go into the relationships a little bit. ****Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites!**  
Read and review if you want, let me know what you think. :)


	3. Chapter Two: Surprises

_Whatever it Takes_

**Kori Anders recently moved to Gotham, trying to start a fresh life and move on from her old one. But those around her can't help but to think she's hiding something, something she'll do whatever it takes to keep from resurfacing. RichardxKori Rated M**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

* * *

Chapter Two: Surprises

The sun shined brightly through Kori's bedroom window. She welcomed the sunlight like an old friend, reveling in its warm embrace. She sat up in bed, arching her back as she stretched and let out a yawn. It had been two days since the night she went to the club, and Kori felt very relieved to no longer feel e groggy as she did the day before due to her hangover.

"I really shouldn't drink so much when I'm nervous," Kori muttered, standing up and walking to her bedroom door, thinking of how she kept downing Cosmos as if her life depended on them.

Kori felt herself blush as her thoughts went from the drinking, to Richards compliment before he left her to leave the club, following behind his girlfriend. However, the thought of Babs made her stomach turn, so she brushed off the thoughts of the club and continued walking down to her living room.

* * *

Richard sat in his living room on his black leather sofa, holding his head in his hands. His head was aching from all the drinks he's had in the past two nights and all of Barbara's screaming.

"Oh my god, Babs. Will you drop it already?" Richard pleaded, wanting to rip his hair out of his head. "You're the only person who did anything wrong the other, acting like a fool the way that you did. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that is to me? You yelled at her for no reason, we were just talking about how she knows everyone. But this happened literally two days ago, why are you _still _complaining?"

"What, you're already defending her all the time now? Damn, Dick. Who knew the little bitch meant so much to you already," Babs hissed, glaring at him.

Richard took a moment to stare at her in disbelief, "You think I'm only fighting with you because of just what happened at the club, Barbara? You do this anywhere we go. You did this when my cousin from California came up to see me, and because you didn't know who she was, you made a fool out of yourself in front of Bruce."

"So forgive me, if you doing this for the millionth time, to one of Victors closest friends, is pushing me over my limit of dealing with your constant, insecure bullshit," he paused, grinning at the sight of her standing their not knowing what to say. He walked up to her, and bent down to whisper into her ear, "And don't think for a moment that I never knew about you fucking Roy behind my back for three months, Barbara. I'm a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them."

He stood back and watched the horror of him knowing her dirty secret flash through her eyes. "I've known since the first weekend it happened, sweetheart. I've just been thinking, hey, maybe she'll fess up and tell me. But you haven't, so I figured this is the perfect time to unleash my knowledge on you. Get your shit, and get out."

She still remained standing there in shock, not knowing what to say. "Dick… I…"

"Save it Babs, I'm just done with us," Richard bluntly stated, "I'll be out while you get your things. Don't trash anything; I really don't want a law suit. I'd say 'Don't trash anything because I know you're classier than that' But who am I kidding, you classy?" He snorted, and grabbed his coat, and walked out of his penthouse, leaving a dumbfounded Babs behind.

* * *

Richard felt no guilt as he drove into the entrance of Victor's mansion. He parked his car, locking it behind him, and made his way up to the front doors. Richard stared up at the sky, whistling to himself as he waited on his friend to open the door.

"You know you can just let yourself in," Victor stated, opening the door, grinning down at his friend. Richard smirked up at him in return, "Yeah, but I know how Karen and you are, so I would hate to… walk in on something." Victor laughed and rolled his eyes, "We wouldn't do that when expecting guests…. Well, actually, yeah. You're right, knocking is probably a good idea."

Richard chuckled as he walked past him, and threw himself down on Victors couch. "So, where is Karen even at anyways?" He wondered aloud, his eyes scanning the living room, and somewhat into the kitchen.

"Oh, she's in the shower right now I think. I guess her and Rachel might be going somewhere soon. But," Victor began, sitting down on his recliner, eyeing Richard suspiciously, "What is the 'big news' you are just dying to tell me, according to your phone call?"

Richard sat their quietly on the couch for a moment, toying with the buttons on his coat. "Well," he started, not being able to keep the grin of relief off of his face, "I finally got around to dumping Barbara. Not to sound like a dick or anything by saying that, but you know how she is. Plus, she was cheating on me anyways." He wasn't able to keep the anger out of his tone on his last sentence.

"She was cheating on you? Are you sure?" Victor asked, his mouth hanging open, "Babs acts like she's the most perfect, loyal girlfriend ever."

Richard snorted, "She's been fucking Roy, I've known since the first time she did it. Rachel heard them having sex at his party, but I asked her to not tell anyone else till I wanted to deal with it."

Victor sat up straight in his chair, no longer slouching. He held his hands together, and stared Richard down. In return, Richard shifted uncomfortably under Victor's intense gaze. "W-what?" Richard stuttered out, wishing his friend would just speak already.

* * *

Karen stepped out of the shower humming to herself, and she threw on one of her yellow silk robes. Walking out of the bathroom, she began to head towards her bedroom when she heard voices downstairs. "I didn't know Victor was having company," she said to herself, changing her direction towards the stairs so she could listen in out of curiosity.

As she got closer to the stairs, she knew the other voice as Richards as he asked _"W-what?_" He sounded uncomfortable, and she couldn't get herself to go to her room until she found out why. She stood quietly at the top of the stairs, barely out of view, and listened in.

"So if you've known all this time, why are you just now leaving her because of it?" Victor wondered, leaning forward a little bit, and began to speak again in a quieter tone, "It wouldn't have anything to do with you getting cozy with Kori the other night at the club would it?"

This time, Richard sat there with his mouth open. He awkwardly started rubbing the back of his head, "No," he blurted out, his eyes now looking on the ground. He sighed, "I mean… yes and no. Babs was just freaking out about it like she always does whenever a girl steps closer than a foot near me, and it wasn't necessary at all for her to be complaining about me having a conversation with Kori. So because of her complaining _about _ Kori on top of everything else she does, I just finally had enough. If you get what I'm saying."

Victor laughed, "Yeah, I understand. But I also think you have something, even if it's something small, for Kori. Don't get me wrong, I love you man, but if you even think about hurting her, I will destroy you." He ended in a very brotherly-protective tone, a tone that surprised Karen.

She felt a certain amount of pride for her boyfriend after hearing him stand up for Kori like that. Karen always knew that Victor saw himself as Kori's brother, but she never would have thought he'd try to meddle in with Kori's potential love-life. She heard Victor clear his throat, snapping her out of her thoughts, and she brought her attention back to the two men downstairs.

"Something's happened with that girl, I can feel it. And I don't want you playing you little games with Kori. You can do that with any other girl you want, but she doesn't deserve it. I won't allow it."

Richard chuckled, "Victor, calm down. I hardly even know her enough to know if I'd even want a possible relationship with her. Again, I mainly broke up with Babs because of her cheating and her never fessing up to it. Her freaking out over Kori, who I definitely know now, is one of your closer friends, was just the final straw, however, I admit I would like to get to know her better."

_Oh my god, Barbara cheated on Richard? He's single? _Karen's thoughts screamed, not believing all that she was listening to.

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that. She seemed happy talking to you the other night, and that's all that matters to me. I'm not saying you'd ruin her or anything, but if something were to happen romantically between you two, and I think you're being fishy, I'm not going to stay out of it."

"But," he continued, "I'm sure she'll be here for the barbeque next week, maybe you two can talk again there. I'm not just going to hand over her number, you gotta work for it."

He grinned at Richard and patted him on the back, "Now. Wanna play some pool?"

Karen stood upstairs, and rushed to her room, knowing that they would be coming upstairs to go to the game room. She shut her door quietly behind her, and slumped against it with her hand over her mouth. _Richard likes Kori? Oh my god. _She excitedly thought to herself, practically sprinting across the room to grab her cellphone.

She was grinning down at her phone as she went to text Kori, when she almost screamed when she heard the door open. Turning around quickly, she saw Victor and Richard standing in the doorway, amusement evident on both of their handsome faces.

"You okay?" Victor laughed out, not knowing why his girlfriend would be so jumpy. "Y-yes," she squeaked out, before plastering a smile on her face, "Oh Richard, I didn't know you were here. How nice to see you, what are you guys up to?"

Victor gave her a weird look, and she knew he'd be questioning her later. "We were just going to go play some pool. Would you want to play the winner or anything?" His eyes still resting intently on her.

"Actually, not today. I was thinking I'd go out with Rachel and Kori," she flashed her eyes on Richard as she said her name, "If that's alright with you, babe." Her eyes flickering back to Victor.

* * *

Kori lounged comfortably on her couch, enjoying the cool breeze that was flowing through her apartment due to her windows being slightly open. She was watching reruns of 30 Rock, her dog Othello laying by her feet. Kori giggled and petted him, in response he turned over and wanted her to rub his belly. "Oh you," she said happily, rubbing his stomach, "Such a big baby."

Her phone went off on the table by the window, and she reluctantly got up, grabbing her cappuccino as she stood. Grabbing her phone she realized it was Karen who had texted her, and she nearly choked on her drink as she read what Karen had texted.

Kori read it out loud to herself, in disbelief, " 'Sexy Richard Grayson is newly single, and somewhat single because of wanting to get to know you. Meet Rae and I for dinner later?' "

Kori glanced up from her phone, and looked at her reflection in the window. She brushed her hair behind her ear, somewhat speechless. "Richard wants to get to know _me_?"

* * *

**Sorry if it seems to still be a little slow, but it's still the 'beginning' and I'm trying to get everything set up. I know exactly where this story is going, so I'm just working everything into it right now. Don't want to rush anything between characters. Next chapter will be the dinner with Rachel, Karen, and Kori and an accidental run in between Richard and Kori. **

**Next chapter will more than likely be updated any time between tomorrow and the 18****th. **


	4. Chapter Three: Blooming

_**Whatever It Takes**_

* * *

_Chapter Three: Blooming_

Kori listened to the cars passing by and the bits and pieces of strangers conversations as she walked down the busy sidewalks of downtown Gotham, approaching the small restaurant she was supposed to meet Karen and Rachel at.

She opened the door to the restaurant, her eyes quickly scanning over the many filled tables before he eyes finally found her two friends whispering madly to each other, huddled together at a corner table near the back of the restaurant.

Kori stifled a giggle as she walked towards them, realizing they hadn't even noticed her presence because they were too busy in the midst of their gossiping.

"Ahem," Kori said, a playful smile on her face as she watched her two friends jump in surprise. "Am I interrupting?" she said smartly, sitting down next to Rachel.

Karen beamed at her, while Rachel gave her usual small smile. "Take you long enough. You realize you're always late to everything, right?" Rachel stated bluntly, though Kori knew she was just giving her a hard time.

"I'm sorry!" Kori said giggling, "I always take a cab. I call them with what time I want picked up, but they're always late. I just have driving in all this traffic-"

"Can I get you ladies anything?" said a tall, handsome waiter who was looking down at all of them, flashing his pearly whites at Kori. She blushed in response, and looked at the menu. He was gorgeous, with his sandy brown hair and blue eyes. She could still feel the heat in her cheeks as she quickly responded, "I'll just have the fettuccine Alfredo meal, with a glass of the red moscato."

"Would you like the salad and bread sticks then as well, Miss?" he politely asked, still smiling his charming smile. She wished she could stop blushing.

"Um, yeah. I'll have the light Italian dressing on the salad, please." He nodded in response as he wrote down the order before taking Karen and Rachels.

Once the waiter was out of sight, "Girl, that's two fine men that are into you," Karen said, pretending to be jealous of the attention Kori was getting, though everyone knew she was perfectly happy being Victors girlfriend.

"Whatever," Kori said, rolling her eyes, though her checks getting even warmer than before at the thought of Richard liking her.

She could feel Rachel staring at her so she turned to face her, "What? What's wrong?" Kori asked, not knowing why Rachel was beginning to act weird.

"Richard is my cousin," she blurted out, and opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it. Kori was confused, "So? What were you going to say."

"It's just… well, since he's my cousin, I know him. And Kori, as much as I love the man, he has a certain way with girls and I-"

"Oh Rachel shut up," Karen said, interrupting her, "We all know if Richard tried anything fishy with Kori, we wouldn't stand by and let it happen. I heard him talking; he seems genuinely interested in her with _good _intentions. Give the guy a chance."

Kori sat quietly, not really knowing what to say. She didn't even know if she wanted to date him, or if the possibility would even happen. "There's no point in arguing about it," she suddenly spoke up, looking back at her friends, "Nothing might even happen. For all we know he'll work things out with Babs or find someone else, or anything else…." She trailed on.

She was going to say something among the lines of _Or even me find someone else_, but she doubted that happening, since she wasn't exactly a social person. "It's not like I'm in a rush to find anyone right now anyways."

She looked away from Karen as Karen looked at her with obvious pity. Karen hated that Kori had been single the entire time she had known her, and Kori knew Karen was trying to set her up with anyone at this point. "But don't you get lonely?" Karen said quietly, still looking at Kori sadly.

Kori looked down at the table, trying not to get too upset. She was lonely, she was always lonely, was it that obvious? "I mean…. Yeah, sometimes," she started, trying to keep any sign of sadness off her face, "But there are more important things than relationships, and you shouldn't just jump into one with someone you don't even know just because you're 'lonely.' I'm fine with how things are now, I promise you I'm in no rush."

Once Kori was done speaking the waiter reappeared at her table, and he served them their appetizers. Karen watched the way he smiled at Kori before he left the table, after letting them all know their meals would be out shortly. Karen grinned, "You're right… But, if things don't end up going anywhere with Richard, and you decide to want to pursue a relationship with someone else…. There's always the waiter. I know I wouldn't mind being served a piece of that ass."

Kori nearly choked on her salad at Karen's comment, as well as Rachel on her wine. "Karen you are so bad!" Kori giggled, loving how Karen was always so blunt with everything she ever spoke.

* * *

It was nearing 9 o'clock when Kori finally said goodbye to her friends, and they all went their separate ways leaving the restaurant. Karen had offered to drive Kori home, but she wanted to looked around at some of the shops for some new art supplies before they all closed.

She walked down the sidewalk, looking into all the windows of the many stores she passed. She watched as people drifted around each store, all in their own little worlds. Two kids were picking out candy at the cash register, and she smiled at them when they turned and waved at her.

Children always made her happy, and she couldn't wait to have children of her own. Kori felt slightly sad that she was twenty two and never even had a serious relationship before, and it made her fear that she might not ever be given the chance to have children of her own.

She approached a small art shop that was at the end of the street, a shop she had recently looked up online but never had the chance before now to go to it. She quickly walked inside knowing she didn't have too long before they would be closing for the night.

Her emerald orbs darted around the store in every which way as she took in the sight of it. She couldn't help but to feel like a child in a toy store, wanting to touch all the different supplies and buy everything she could.

"Control yourself, Kori," she reminded herself, not wanting to spend all of her money on more art supplies that she didn't exactly need, "Besides, I can't buy too much, I'm taking a cab home."

She walked over to the paint section, knowing new paint and brushes were why she was there to begin with. Kori examined all the different colored paints that she wanted to experiment with, and picked out her usual brushes.

Once satisfied with her selection, she practically skipped up to the counter, flashing a huge smile at the cashier. He was an elderly man, small in height and was quite skinny. He smiled in return, "Is that all miss?" he politely asked, taking a hold of her items as he began to ring them up.

She nodded, still smiling. He bagged the supplies up for her, and handed them over. "Have a nice night, Miss. Come back again."

She walked away, waving, "Thank you, you too!" As soon as she exited through the door, she went to turn back into the direction of the restaurant. She was looking into her bag, still extremely excited, when she ran into something hard.

Kori began to stumble backwards, and felt strong hands grip both of her arms, holding her steady. "Kori?" a deep, familiar voice asked out, sounding slightly amused.

Kori opened her eyes, realizing she was no longer falling back, and looked into the icy blue eyes of Richard Grayson.

She knew she must have been blushing, because he grinned down at her, "Happy to see me?"

He pulled her up so she could stand up straight. She was at a loss for words as she still continued to look up at him. She realized she should probably stop staring and speak already. "Yes, quite the coincidence actually."

He raised his brow, waiting for her to explain why. She could tell he was waiting for her to continue, so she took a deep breath, feeling completely awkward. "It's just that… The girls brought you up at dinner. I didn't know you were Rachel's cousin," she quickly added, trying to make it seem as if they only brought Richard up for that reason alone.

"Yeah, her mother Arella is my mother's sister. They moved to Gotham when I was adopted so I still had family around," he trailed on, "That's the only reason I was brought up?" He sounded a little disappointed.

Kori didn't know what to say, so she decided to lie. "Um… sure, so why are you 'out on the town' tonight?" she asked, trying to change the subject. Her heart pained for him though, after hearing him say he was adopted.

He had a feeling she was lying, and decided to ignore her question. He grabbed the bag out of her hand, and rummaged through it.

"Hey, what are you doing!" Kori cried out, trying to grab the bag back from him. "Nice art supplies," he said, chuckling at her reaction to him grabbing her bag. "Why are you out alone in the middle of downtown Gotham anyways? You know it's dangerous right?" he asked, knowing he was already becoming protective of the strange red head.

"I… I, uh, I had dinner with Karen and Rachel. She offered to drive me home, but I really wanted to go to this store," she admitted, pointing up at the store she just came out of.

"Well, let me walk you to your car at least. I know I'd feel better."

"Oh, that's not needed. I took a cab here, I just have to wave one down."

He narrowed his eyes at her, frowning. "Let me take you home, my SUV isn't far from here. I don't care for the cabbies around here."

Her eyes widened, and she was scared to be alone with him. Not because she was scared _of _him, but she always felt like some love-struck teenager who blabs away stupidly when around him. "Oh no, Richard. I don't wish to burden you and-"

Richard interrupted her, "Burden me? Kori, I insist." He flashed her a charming smile, and she thought her knees would give out. _Why is God doing this to me? _She wondered, though knowing she would have to give in. She had a feeling he was someone who didn't accept no for an answer, and didn't give up till he got what he wanted.

Kori still looked up at him with a questioning gaze, "Wouldn't Babs mind?" she asked, pretending to not know about the break up.

Richard grimaced, "Babs and I are no more," he answered bluntly, and tried to bring back his chipper tone, "So, may I show you to my vehicle? We should probably stop just standing here in the middle of the parking lot." He nodded to the left of him, and she looked to see what he was pointing out. She hadn't realized how many people were making their ways around them, almost as if they were extremely pissed off about Richard and her just standing there.

She gave him s small smile, "Lead away."

* * *

Kori now sat in the passenger seat of Richards slick black 2013 Audi Q5. She breathed in… still was able to smell the new car scent. "Nice car," she blurted out, breaking the silence. He chuckled, "Thanks. I just got it last month. I was tired of having a car, so I figured getting an SUV would be the best option."

"What, not into trucks? She asked, amused. "Around here? Nah. And plus, SUV's have more room for more people, and what not. If you're cold I can turn on the heat," he finished, realizing she shivered for a moment.

"Yes, that would be appreciated. I really should buy a warmer jacket," she admitted, looking down at her thin one.

"Yeah, it's only supposed to get colder, so that's probably a good idea," he replied, he too taking a moment to glance at her rather think jacket. He reached forward and pressed the heat on, he also feeling a little chilly.

There wasn't much conversation exchanged as he drove to Kori's apartment. He didn't mind though, and neither did she. The silence was comfortable as they sat, enjoying the warmth of the car. Neither of them was much for car conversations, so they were both equally happy that they didn't try to attempt that much 'small talk.'

"Is that it?" he asked, pulling up to a dark orange building, which had three two story townhome apartments connected to each other. He realized she lived about 20 minutes away from Downtown in a somewhat deserted area, though most of downtown Gotham was still in view. However, the fact that she lived in a slightly remote area, further from him than he thought, made him uneasy.

"Yes, thank you for the ride home, Richard," she stated politely, opening the door. He too got out of the car, and she turned to look at him questionably. He smiled at her reassuringly, "I was just going to walk you to your door."

She giggled, "Oh how chivalrous of you." She continued to beam at him as he became nearer to her. She waited till he was next to her before she began walking; meeting each other's pace, though Richard had to walk slightly slower than usual since his long legs took bigger strides than hers did.

Kori got to her door and turned around once again to face Richard, who sighed. "Well, I guess we made it safely to my door," she teased, still smiling. _Why am I smiling so much_ she thought, she swore she could feel her cheeks starting to hurt.

Richard didn't seem to mind all her smiles, and it made him happy that she seemed so content with hanging around him. "Yeah, I guess we did. I guess I'll be seeing you some-"

"Would you like to come in? After all, you did drive me home." She felt nervous asking him that, hoping he didn't think she was inviting him to bed or anything. _No, no… Much too soon for that._

"Yeah, that would be nice."

Kori nodded her head and unlocked her door, holding the door open for him. He walked past her and looked around at her apartment. He could tell instantly that she was an artist, from all the paintings hung up and the unfinished painted canvas that stood next to the balcony doors.

"Please, sit down," she gestured towards the couch, "Would you like anything to drink? I have lemonade, water… And I think I still have a bottle of wine Rachel gave me last year, it hasn't been opened yet."

"Waters fine," he replied casually, taking it upon himself to wonder around her apartment. "May I use the bathroom?" he knew his cheeks were turning red, he felt the warmth. He realized he hadn't gone for hours now, and he really needed to go.

She noticed his blushing and giggled. "Yeah sure, it's through there on the left." Richard watched as she disappeared into the kitchen to get him a water, before he went into the hallway.

Her apartment had a nice homey feel to it, and he certainly wouldn't mind spending more time there. He opened the first door on the left, and peered inside noticing it was her bedroom instead of the bathroom. He went to shut the door when he heard a growl, turning to his left he noticed a large mastiff snarling at him from the corner of the bedroom. "What the fuck!" he yelled out, backing away as the dog ran at him, now barking.

"OTHELLO NO! DOWN!" Kori screamed out, putting herself between her massive dog and Richard, who was fuming. The dog quickly stopped running, and threw itself down on the ground, rolling over onto it's back. Kori knelt down and began to rub the dogs belly while Richard stood there speechless.

"Good boy Othello, good boy," she cooed the giant dog, now scratching behind it's ears.

Richard snorted. "Yeah, real good boy Othello. For almost scaring the piss outta me."

"Oh hush," she said standing up, "He doesn't know you. He was just doing his job and protecting me and this apartment."

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Richard taunted playfully, "I'm hoping this door doesn't have a giant crocodile behind it in the bathtub waiting to death roll me."

She stuck her tongue out at him, and continued to praise her dog for guarding her as he locked the bathroom door behind him.

* * *

An hour had passed since the whole Othello ordeal, and after Richard quoted to her his favorite part of Shakespeare's Othello, they found themselves sprawled out on her couch, chatting the night away.

It had been a long time for Richard since he had actually had intellectual and lasting conversation with a girl, since Babs wasn't capable of doing anything but whining and talking about herself and what she wanted all the time. It was nice, and he felt himself falling for her more and more by the minute.

"So," he started, "Want to watch a movie or something? I'm really in no rush to go home, unless you'd rather me go." He thought of the horror he might come home to since Babs was supposed to have gotten her things and left. Who knows what she might have destroyed in the process.

And just like Richard was in no rush to go home, Kori was in no rush to get rid of him either.

She knew she might be getting herself into trouble, as she thought back to what Rachel was saying about him being a playboy. She quickly shoved the thoughts aside, wanting to put faith in him. "Sure, I have Netflix if you want to try and find something on there."

Richard turned on her blu-ray player and chose the Netflix option. He skimmed through all the selections, them slightly bickering back and forth on what movies to watch or not to watch. Finally after arguing about it for almost 15 minutes, they both agreed on the movie _House at the End of the Street._

She stood up and dimmed the lights as he pressed play. He leaned against the arm of the couch, laying his feet up on the table, and rested his arm up on the top of the couch getting nice and comfortable.

Kori sat down on the couch next to him, and felt nervous as the movie started. She was never one for horror/thriller movies, but she _had _wanted to go and see it. She also knew she'd never watch it by herself though she doubted it was that scary or anything, so she knew watching it with Richard would probably be the only time she'd get herself to see it.

* * *

Richard opened his eyes and glanced around him, almost forgetting that he was at Kori's. The movie was still playing, and he laughed at finding out that Ryan had been forced to become Carrie Anne, and was then was kidnapping girls, recreating Carrie Anne and killing them when he had to. "I guess that's a nice twist," he said, but then realized that Kori too had fallen asleep sometime during the movie, and was leaning against him.

He carefully got up to turn the movie off, and laid her down gently on the couch. Once the movie was off, he stared down at her, debating on whether or not to just leave her there and let her sleep, or if to wake her up so she could sleep in her bedroom, and then them be able to say goodnight.

_It would be rude to just up and leave, and she did mention her back hurting a lot when we were talking earlier, I don't want her to have to sleep on the couch all night…_ _Wait, is she having a nightmare? _he thought, finally making up his mind to wake her. He observed her as she was shaking in her sleep, mumbling mostly incoherent things, but he did hear her say "stop".

He sighed and tip toed over to her, and started to gently shake her. "Kori? Kori, wake up. We fell asleep watching the movie. Kori," he said, still shaking her. He chuckled as she made some sleepy noises, still refusing to open her large green eyes.

"_What are you doing here? I called the police… They're already on their way," she yelled out, trying to find him in the darkness. "Did you hear me?! They're on their way!" She screamed as she felt something hard hit her in the back of the head. She fell forward onto the ground, and was soon violently flipped over onto her back._

"_You tried to destroy me, Kori. Did you not think I'd do everything in my power to come back here and get you? As if a restraining order would stop me. It's just a piece of paper…" he trailed on, grabbing a knife from his pocket._

"_You're psychotic!" she cried out, never feeling so frightened in her life. "Insulting me? Not really a smart thing to do when I'm holding a knife."_

_He took the blade of the knife, and pressed it down into her soft flesh under her right breast. He dragged the knife further down, cutting her flesh in a thin line. Blood began to spill out over her stomach. "Stop, please stop," she cried in pain. Her cries only made him even more eager to inflict pain on her._

_He took the knife and cut open her pajama pants, "Maybe I'll make it to where no other guy will want to touch you, Kori."_

"_Stop… Please, just stop it..." she continued to cry, tears freely streaming down her face as she tried to squirm out of his grasp. _

"_Kori, wake up… We fell asleep for like an hour, please get up?"_

"_What?" she asked, "Wake up?"_

"Kori, come on. Wake up," he pleaded, amused at how difficult she was to wake up, though concerned that she was having a bad dream. She opened her eyes then finally, seemingly disoriented. She looked up to see a dark figure standing over her in the dim lit room, and she screamed. She immediately brought her fist to his face, connecting it to his nose. He shouted out in pain and staggered back, his hand holding his nose that was no gushing out blood.

"Kori?! What the fuck!" he yelled, completely confused on why she just punched him. She sat up on the couch, realizing who it was, and felt completely horrified. She held her hand over her mouth, frozen, not knowing what to do.

"Oh my god, Richard…" she started, wanting to punch herself in the face. "I am so sorry, I wasn't thinking… I forgot… Oh my god, I am so sorry." She finally stood and walked up to him. She grabbed him by the arm and led him to the bathroom, repeating "I'm so sorry" over and over again as she stood him against the counter as she pulled out a clean towel.

She ran the towel underneath the sink for a second before handing it to him. "Here, hold your head up." He took the towel and did what he was told. _It actually feels nice to be taken care of, _he admitted to himself, as she cleaned up his hand with another towel.

"You know, that's the first time a girl has punched me just because of waking up to my face," he told her, knowing it made her feel worse. He immediately regretted it after seeing her eyes start to tear up. "Don't cry, Kori. It's fine. I'm just giving you a hard time."

He grabbed her hand that was cleaning off his other hand, and squeezed it tightly to reassure her that he wasn't mad at her.

"What, did you think I was going to attack you or something?" he asked, then remembering Victor telling him how he thought something bad had happened to Kori. "I don't really know what I was thinking, to be honest," she said quietly, looking to the ground, though she was lying to him.

He took the towel off his nose, tired of holding his head up and having to look down at her from a weird angle. He took his finger and slid it under her chin, guiding her face up to look at him. "Kori, it's fine. I promise. I should have turned the lights on or something since I knew you were having a bad dream. Besides, I think it's already done bleeding."

He twitched his nose around a few times, satisfied that he no longer felt any warm liquid trailing out of his nose. "So you're an artist, a Shakespeare fan, and are capable of throwing a really good punch. Have a dog ready to rip me apart at moments notice. And let's not forget the way you can down those cosmos, and yet... still remain so mysterious" he grinned, enjoying teasing her so much. His face leaned down closer to hers, his hand still cupping her chin. "Who are you, Kori Anders?" he breathed, his lips lightly brushing against hers.

_You have no idea…, _she thought sadly to herself, before she found herself kissing him back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. His hands came down to her sides and pulled her closer to him, his own arms wrapping around her curvy body. She tasted so sweet, and he didn't want to ever stop kissing her. He licked her lips, asking for entrance. Kori happily obliged, and soon their tongues were battling for dominance.

_What am I doing? I hardly know him… He just left Babs… But he's a magnificent kisser…_ she thought to herself, surprised at how quickly she had kissed him back. He picked her up, and turned them around so that she was now sitting on the bathroom counter, him standing between her legs.

She started to feel panicked. Kori enjoyed kissing him, but she wasn't ready for it to turn into anything more than kissing. She pulled away, and leaned up to peck him on the lips again shortly, them both breathing heavily, before pulling away again.

She could tell he was confused about pulling away from the kiss, so she smiled at him reassuringly. "I just… don't want us to get too carried away," she admitted quietly, "I'm not really… ready for _that. _I'm sorry if that's a problem—"

"Oh god no, Kori," he quickly interrupted her, "I wasn't even thinking about it leading to that." She almost looked hurt at his words, so he hurried up and continued talking. "Not that I wouldn't do _that_ with you, I just know it shouldn't happen between us at the moment is all." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, still standing between her toned legs.

Trying to rid his thoughts of her legs and how she'd look with no pants on, he glanced at his cellphone. It was nearing 3 in the morning, "Oh wow, it really is late. It's almost three."

"Really?" she said in disbelief, she hadn't even realized he had been there that long. "I guess you should probably get going home then…" she trailed off, sadly.

They walked together to her front door, both dreading the fact that he had to leave. They shared a brief hug before he walked out of her apartment. She stopped him and grabbed his cellphone and typed in her cellphone number, "You can call or text me anytime, if you want to that is."

_Finally I have her number. I'll be sure to tell Victor I took a punch for it, _he amusingly thought to himself, though extremely thrilled he had a real way to get in contact with her now.

"Trust me, I will. Goodnight, Kori," he whispered, giving her a short but sweet kiss.

"Goodnight Richard," she breathed, as he walked away from her, leaving her standing on her porch touching her lips.


End file.
